Regional

12:31 pm

Sat August 27, 2011

Perry Bills Feds For Housing Undocumented

Texas – Texas Gov. Rick Perry has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reimburse the state $350 million to cover costs of imprisoning illegal immigrants.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the top-tier Republican presidential candidate blamed the federal government for not securing the border with Mexico, allowing illegal immigrants to cross over and use taxpayer-funded resources. He said resources for county jails are being depleted as a result.

Perry included in the letter the formula he used to determine the costs and included a memo from state Comptroller Susan Combs supporting his calculations.

The letter was dated Aug. 10, three days before Perry formally announced his campaign for president. Perry is combatting criticism from conservatives that he has been too lenient on illegal immigrants.